Society
by Lifeisconfusing
Summary: She's getting married to someone she hates. AU, Trory, R
1. Love and Hate

**Society**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Beta:** just hidden

**Part One:Love and Hate**

* * *

He wasn't supposed to be there. 

Her mother had promised. Of course, she had broken promises before. It wasn't like she knew the repercussions of him being there. Usually it paid to have parents that were uninvolved in her life, but not tonight.

She had hated him at first. She hated him now. But she had also loved him, and she hated that part of her still did.

She motioned the bartender and handed her a shot of tequila. He knew she wasn't twenty-one, but it was her parents' part after all. Downing the shot, she felt the liquid burn down her throat.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

He wasn't supposed to be there. 

His parents, however, had made him. They knew she would be there, in fact, they were counting on it. They didn't know that she would never give their son the time of day, at least not willingly. Not after what he had done to her.

No. All they saw was her last name .The fact that she was worth billions of dollars and was single; or at least dating no one of significance.

He had broken her, and everyone knew. Well, not everyone, just everyone at Chilton Academy. It had been awful. Not even the cattiest girls would tease her about it. She had received sympathy looks from the entire school, even the teachers.

Logan, Colin, and Finn had stuck by him, but only after a week of giving him the cold shoulder. They had loved her like a sister, and had beaten him severely. Yet they had stuck by him.

Her face still haunted him. The look of utter disappointment and devastation that settled in her eyes would never leave his mind. The way those eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall until she was no longer in his sight had broken his heart. Of course, some said that he didn't have a heart.

He wished that he could turn back time and stop that night from ever happening. He wished that he had never been so stupid.

He was still the king of the school. The title was more a formality, however. He was the captain of the basketball team and third in the class; of course, she was first.

He could have done what he did to any other girl and walked away unscathed; but she wasn't any other girl. She was beautiful, smart, and nice. The fact that she was heiress to two multi-billion dollar fortunes helped. But she didn't look down on anyone and that was odd.

She was like the Princess Di of the school. People wanted to hate her, but they couldn't.

She had flaws. Everyone does. There were prettier girls and there were smarter ones. But that didn't matter. To those around her she was the epitome of perfect, but she wasn't. Those at school saw her looks and how she was nice. They had never seen her break down. Even after the incident she had kept a stone face until she was in private. She would never give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

He knew everything about her. He knew that her parents didn't know a thing about her. He knew that she wasn't perfect. He knew that the scars on the back of her wrist weren't an accident. He knew that she covered them up with bracelets and make up.

Also, he knew that he would always love her, which was a curse.

* * *

It had all started in the sixth grade. Even then he had been a player and when he saw her he dubbed her 'Mary.' Something about her had captivated him and she had no idea. Her last name had sent a shockwave through the school. Even at the tender age of eleven, everyone knew what they what they would grow up to be; everyone except her. 

Paris and Stephanie had dug up some information on her and found out why. She had grown up in the small town of Stars Hollow. Her mother had gotten pregnant at sixteen and she and her boyfriend ran away with her unborn child. The two married and with the money that they had each secretly been depositing in a secret account each month, they were able to buy a suitable house and pay for a nanny while they attended Stars Hollow High and got their diplomas.

She had been 18 months when her parents started Yale and her grandparents found them. Her parents weren't stupid, they knew that they would be found and had prepared for it. If her grandparents would pay for her parents to attend Yale, then they would move back to Hartford and, when she was old enough, allow them to launch their beautiful granddaughter into society.

It was a deal only two selfish eighteen year-olds would make, and had lived to regret it.

Of course, when she heard the story afterwards, her parents' decision confused her. If they wanted her to be society, then why run away at all?

Somehow, she had attended Stars Hollow Elementary school. Surprisingly, it had been her grandparents' idea. They knew that with her name she would get publicity. And they wanted to protect their granddaughter from that for as long as they could.

Every morning, her driver would drive her to Stars Hollow and pick her up thirty minutes after school ended. Even as a five year old, she was left to roam around the strange town and usually ended up at Luke's.

At first, the diner owner laughed when she ordered coffee. Then, he had given her a mug, not really expecting her to actually drink it, and a donut. He had suspected that she was just ordering it to sound sophisticated, not knowing that she was already sophisticated enough. When she handed him the five dollar bill and left, pink backpack and all, he was bewildered to find the mug empty. When she came back that afternoon, he refused to serve her, as he did every morning and afternoon for the following six years. But, somehow, she always managed to get coffee.

Her first day of Kindergarten was a little heartbreaking for her. She looked around and noticed that all the other boys and girls had at least one parent with them. Tears flooded her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. Her mother and father had never taken an interest in her life, so why should it bother her now?

Word had spread about the little girl around town, and the people of Stars Hollow found her fascinating. None of them realized that she was the baby that had lived there a little over three years ago. She had found a friend in Luke, who after seeing her walk to school alone one day, took it upon himself to make sure she arrived safely.

After fifth grade, she said goodbye to Luke and the friends she had made at school. Her teachers had never seen hide nor hair of any parental figure of hers and it saddened them a bit when they saw that she would not, in fact, be attending Stars Hollow Middle School.

Middle school had been where she met him and the people that were soon to be her best friends. She soon realized that these kids were just like her. Their parents would supply copious amounts of money without batting an eyelash, but had probably never told their children that they love them.

* * *

Lorelai Victoria Hayden hated her life. 

She hated how her days consisted of DAR meetings and other clubs that she had vowed she would never join. She hated that she still held the nickname 'pregnant debutante.' She hated that she and Chris had let their parents into their life. She hated that she was still society. She hated that her daughter was part of society.

Lorelai Victoria Hayden loved her daughter.

She loved her unconditionally. But she didn't know how to be a mother. So when she sent her daughter off to school alone at the young age of five, she had no idea that she was supposed to go with her. She had given her daughter her name and that was it.

She hadn't known to punish her daughter, for her daughter had never done anything worth being punished. When she started Yale, her parents hired a nanny. Of course, it wasn't her daughter's first nanny, but the nanny in Stars Hollow had told her about her daughter's day. The nanny Emily Gilmore hired was a society nanny who abided by one rule: keep the child out of the parents' way.

After a while, Lorelai stopped trying to learn about her daughter, and it was something she would always regret. She knew her daughter was smart and she knew her daughter was beautiful. But that was it.

Lorelai Victoria Hayden loved her husband.

Christopher was her one and only and he loved her just as much as she loved him. Their relationship reminded her of her parents'. It was the one thing she would openly admit to having in common with her parents.

She didn't know that her daughter's heart had been broken by Tristan DuGrey, her best friend turned boyfriend turned ex-boyfriend, and she was glad she didn't know. Because if she did, it would have made the decision she and her husband made, so much harder to make.

* * *

Tristan Dugrey was in for it. 

He hadn't been to a party thrown by the Gilmore-Hayden's since last year. Before everything happened. Before Rory had rightfully dumped him.

Every room held a memory. The kitchen reminded him of their first kissed. The living room reminded him of making out when they were supposed to be studying. Her bedroom reminded him of when they first made love.

His house was the same way, but she didn't inhabit his house.

Logan, Colin, and Finn were with him. Although he'd never admit it, he was glad he had a support system. He knew they still saw Rory, even though they tried to hide it from him.

All he knew was that his parents were announcing something tonight, something that involved Rory and her family.

Rory.

On very few occasions did he call her Rory. He had stuck to Mary. It had started as a taunt and turned into a nickname which then evolved into a loving pet name. She had never admitted it, but she had grown fond to the name.

Now, whenever he tried to talk to her, she didn't answer him at all. Not even if he called her Mary.

He saw her by the bar talking to Stephanie and Rosemary. Even now, she took his breath away.

"Hey, can I borrow Finn for a moment?" Paris's voice broke him out of his trance.

Finn's face lit up. "Of course, love," he responded suavely.

"Not for that Finn. Someone needs your help," Paris glared at the Australian and pulled him away from the group

Tristan Dugrey was not stupid.

He knew she was talking about Rory. His eyes followed Paris and Finn as they neared Rory.

"Love!" Finn called out.

She smiled.

He missed that smile.

* * *

Lorelai 'Rory' Gilmore-Hayden was eighteen years old and in her last year of high school. She had started senior year with a boyfriend and was ending without one. 

She missed him. She hated that she missed him.

"Are you okay Ror?" asked Paris.

Rory instantly looked to her feet, not wanting one of her best friends to know she was following her ex with her eyes.

"Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Paris gave her a knowing look, "Its okay, you know."

"What's okay?" Rory asked.

"If you miss him," Paris replied automatically.

"I don't want to," Rory whispered.

"I know," Paris put a comforting arm around her friend. "I'm going to go get Finn. He's bound to have something stronger on him," Paris motioned to Rory's empty shot glass.

Paris walked away and Rory was immediately joined by Stephanie and Rosemary.

"Hey sweetie," Rosemary greeted her sympathetically.

"You doing okay?" asked Stephanie.

Before she could answer, she felt him. He was looking at her. Again. Her body tensed up. He was always looking at her and she hated it. He did it in class, in the hall, during lunch.

"Rory, what's wrong?"

"He's doing it again," was all she said.

"Love!" Rory heard the Australian voice ring through the room. She couldn't help but smile.

She waited for Paris and Finn to get closer before greeting him, "Hey Finn," she kissed him on the cheek.

"Need something?" He asked as he pulled his flask from his jacket pocket.

"Please?" She gave him her Bambi eyes.

"You don't even have to ask, Love," he watched her take a sip, as did the other three girls.

"I'm alright, you know. I'm not just going to break down because he's here," she told them.

"We know, we just worry," Rosemary told her.

They were all silent or a moment.

"So what's the excuse for the party this time?" asked Finn.

"Dad's making an announcement about the business," Rory replied casually. "I don't see why we had to attend."

As if on cue, a sharp ringing noise was heard throughout the room. It was the noise that was made when a spoon tapped a champagne glass.

"If I could all have your attention please," Christopher Hayden called. He was in the middle of the room accompanied by his wife.

There was a slight buzz before the room went silent. He was, after all, Christopher Hayden.

"I'm sure you all wondered why you are all here. So, without further or due, I have an announcement," he started.

_Well that's stating the obvious_ thought Rory.

"As you all know, Hayden law firm has been around for many years. It was started by my grandfather. For almost as long, Dugrey law firm has been there too. Well, as of this afternoon, it is Dugrey and Hayden partners at law," announced Christopher.

A thunderous applause exploded in the room, but Rory heard none of it.

It all made sense now.

"And that's not all," her father continued. "Although they have kept their relationship a secret, we thought you should all know that my daughter Lorelai is getting married."

"To my son, Tristan," added John Dugrey.

And that was when Rory fainted.

* * *

**I know, another arranged marriage fic, but I couldn't resist. Should I continue? Please Review!**


	2. Pain

**Society**

**AN:** This chapter may be a little confusing. There are flashbacks but they aren't in italics. After the break I'll put: (flashback). If there is any confusion, I'm sorry. These first few chapters set the base and I promise they won't all be this confusing. Thanks so much for all the reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Beta:** just hidden

**Part Two: Pain**

* * *

Finn caught her before she hit the ground.

She didn't attract any attention as her four friends snuck her up the stairs and into her room. Everyone was too caught up in her father's recent announcement to notice her loss of consciousness.

"How much has she had to drink?" Finn asked urgently.

"I . . . I just saw her take a shot of tequila and a sip of whatever is in that flask. Besides, I don't think it was the alcohol that made her pass out," Paris replied.

"Is she going to be okay?" asked Stephanie.

Rosemary disappeared into the adjoining bathroom and emerged with a cup of water and handed it to Finn. "She'll be fine," she said convincingly.

Finn dipped his fingers in the water and sprang them towards Rory's face. After seeing no affect, he pulled something out of his pocket and put it under Rory's nose; her eyes sprang open.

"Why do you have smelling salts with you?" Stephanie wanted to know.

"Colin makes me keep it with me at all times after he had to carry me up three flights of stairs because I was passed out," he told her, without looking away from Rory. "Are you okay, Love?" Finn asked soothingly.

Rory's eyes filled with tears and she hastily wiped them away as she shook her head. "I must have been a real bitch in a past life."

There was a pounding in her head and she thought that it was because of the fall, but when she noticed the others looking towards the door she knew that they heard it too. Someone was coming up the stairs and there was only one possibility of who it could be.

"Close the door," she said quickly.

Paris had almost turned the lock on the handle when the door burst open, pushing Paris into Rosemary. Rory lay back in bed and closed her eyes. She wanted them gone, all of them.

"You should really leave," Stephanie said in a cross tone to the person who came into the room.

"I will when I'm done," the person said, his tone just as harsh.

Rory opened her eyes and could see Tristan walking towards the bed. Swiftly, she got up and ran into the bathroom, locking the door immediately.

Opening the medicine cabinet on the wall, she moved some things on the third shelf and found what she was looking for. She unwrapped the fabric and took the shard of glass in her right hand.

* * *

He saw her fall.

It made his heart jump but it calmed when he saw Finn catch her. The adults around him were offering him congratulations. It was a fairy tale. An heir and an heiress fall in love and merge companies. He could just see the Disney movie now.

As the four snuck Rory up to her room, something caught his eye. Her bracelet of the night had slipped and her scars were visible. She had covered it with some type of make-up. You could only see them if you knew they were there. He knew she would be up soon, and he knew what she would do the moment she had the chance.

Ignoring the voices of Colin and Logan, Tristan bounded up the stairs. He heard Rory tell someone to shut the door, but he was able to get through. He was not, however, able to stop her from going into the bathroom.

"Rory, get out!" he yelled.

"Leave me alone!"

"Don't do it. I know what I did to you was shitty, and I know I'm an asshole, but if you ever had any positive feelings towards me you will come out!" he shouted through the door.

Silence. Was it even possible to hear silence? Wasn't the very definition the absence of sound, therefore, nothing to hear?

The silence was interrupted by a short click. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the doorknob turn and he stepped back.

He knew that their friends were probably confused as hell right now. He was the only one who knew.

You see, she had trusted him. But he no longer deserved her trust.

* * *

She hadn't always been like this.

A cutter.

It had started before Tristan. Before they had started dating. Before he had kissed her during a society function while they were hiding in the kitchen.

It had started sometime in the sixth grade. She had felt utterly and completely alone. She didn't get to see Luke or Jess anymore. The town of Stars Hollow was no longer her sanctuary. She couldn't drive and she hadn't figured out that her parents didn't care yet. They didn't care if she went to a place they didn't know, full of people who, to them, were strangers.

The situation had presented itself in a time that she was in need of a solution. Pain had been inflicted on her from every angle of her life. Pain from the parents that never cared. Pain from the grandparents who wanted her to be perfect. Pain from leaving Stars Hollow. Pain from the teachers at her new school who hated all of their pupils because they, just by the act of being born, had more money then they themselves would ever earn.

Lorelai 'Rory' Leigh Gilmore-Hayden was a control freak.

The fact that she couldn't control this pain was even more painful then the actual pain itself. Then, finally, she could control it.

It happened for the first time when she was at the Gilmore house. One of the maids had knocked over a picture frame, shattering the glass all over the carpet. Before her grandmother could yell at the maid to clean it up and get her ass over to the unemployment office, Rory grabbed one of the bigger pieces and stuffed it into the pocket of her coat.

As soon as she was home, she went to her bathroom and set the shard on the counter and stared at it for awhile. After plucking up the courage to finally take the glass in her hand, she pressed it to the far side of her left arm, barely allowing it to break the skin. After taking a deep breath, she brought the glass closer to her. Gliding it across her pale skin, she saw a fine red line follow the path of the glass.

In a sick way, she loved it.

It had hurt like hell, but it was hurt she could control. No one else could cause this sort of pain, only her. The feeling of control over something in her life was overpowering and addicting.

She didn't cut every day. Only when she needed it. As time went on, however, the need grew.

She was making new friends who were different from the ones in Stars Hollow. She was in a new school that was more difficult than the one in Stars Hollow. She was finding that she actually had to study to get the grades that had come easily in Stars Hollow.

But, she reasoned, Hartford was nothing like Stars Hollow.

As life got more stressful, more and more scars appeared on her arms. Bad grade? She bought a new bracelet. Trashy article written about her? She bought some more cover-up. Luckily for her, her school uniform consisted of long sleeves.

She couldn't tell anyone, because then she would have to stop. And she couldn't stop.

She felt guilty for not telling her friends, but she didn't think she could stand to see the looks on their faces.

Halfway through her sophomore year, however, the open cuts on her arm gradually reduced. She found happiness. She found him. They were at school when he first saw them. They weren't boyfriend/girlfriend yet, they had just gone on a few dates. It had been pouring out, and her shirt had soaked through, revealing the small white tank top she wore when she drove home.

She kept an extra shirt in her locker. The bell had just rung and there was no way she would make it to class on time if she went to the bathroom. Besides, the hall was relatively empty anyway. So she slipped off her sopping wet shirt, quickly replaced it with the dry one, and put every button through its hole. She hadn't noticed him standing right next to her, wide eyed and astonished.

He had closed both of their lockers and taken her out of school. She didn't protest and he knew she wouldn't. After driving around aimlessly for about an hour, he stopped and pulled off the road.

"Why?" he had asked.

"Because I control it," she had whispered back.

"How long?"

"A few years."

That had truly astounded him. She could have said she had only done it once and he would have believed her wholeheartedly. He hadn't even gotten a good look at them. He had been walking down the hall when she appeared. He had liked her for years. Then, to his delight, he saw her take her shirt off. It was when she stole a glance at her left arm did he realize the scars.

* * *

(flashback)

The day of his eighteenth birthday was, and always will be, the worst day of his life.

He had woken up with Rory by his side. A great way to start, in his opinion. It was a school day, so he had gotten up to take a shower, deciding to let her catch an extra few minutes of sleep. His parents were in Europe (something they had felt tremendously guilty for), so it wasn't like they would come rushing in to wish him a happy birthday and catch them in an awkward position.

He was drying off when he heard her cell phone ring. He opened the door to answer it before it woke her up, but, to his surprise, Rory answered it.

"What do you want?" she answered crossly.

"No."

"We can't tell him, it would break his heart."

He widened the door quietly to hear the conversation better.

"Well, there is no way he won't know by tonight."

Tell him what?

"Of course he doesn't already know; I'm a good liar."

She was lying to him?

"Look, Tristan and I are going out to dinner. I should be at the house around nine. That's all you need to know."

What the hell?

"I love you too Finn, bye."

There was no way. Absolutely, positively, no chance that she was cheating on him with Finn. He was his friend, his best friend. There was no way in hell.

"Yes, Finn, I bought lingerie."

He thought she had hung up, but he had been wrong. Hot tears flooded his eye, but he angrily pushed them out and went to join her out in the bedroom.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

"I thought you were asleep."

"The phone woke me up."

"Oh, really, who was it?" he asked.

"Wrong number," she lied.

"Oh," was all he could manage.

"Are you okay?" her voice was full of false concern; at least he thought it was false.

"Yeah, I'm just going to skip school today. I don't feel up to it."

"I could skip with you," she offered seductively.

"I'm just going to sleep," he said lamely.

"Oh," she tried to hide the fact that she was disappointed.

She got out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed. Tristan faked sleep when she emerged from the bathroom. As soon as he saw her car pull out his driveway from his window, he picked up his cell phone.

"Summer? It's Tristan."

If she could cheat, so could he.

* * *

(flashback)

The day of Tristan's eighteenth birthday was, and always will be, the worst day of Rory's life. Or at least tied with today.

She had woken up in his bed and could hear the shower running. She closed her eyes in hope of getting more sleep, but her plan was foiled when her phone started to ring. There was no coffee system and she almost felt bad for her harsh greeting.

"What do you want?"

"Is he in the room?" Finn wanted to know.

Rory laughed.

"No."

"Love, we need to tell him about our secret affair," Finn joked.

"We can't tell him, it would break his heart."

"Do you think he knows?"

She had been planning a surprise birthday party for Tristan for a little over a month. She had switched personalities with Paris and had become a monster. Sort of like a bridezilla, only she wasn't getting married.

"Well, there is no way he won't know by tonight."

"Are you sure he doesn't know?"

She had enlisted Finn's help. He loved keeping secrets.

"Of course he doesn't already know; I'm a good liar."

"Have you made up your mind about what excuse to tell him to get him back to his house?"

"Look, Tristan and I are going out to dinner. I should be at the house around nine. That's all you need to know."

"Fine, don't tell me," he replied dramatically.

"I love you too Finn, bye."

"Did you buy him anything _special_?" Finn asked mischievously.

"Yes, Finn, I bought lingerie."

After being fifteen minutes late to pick her up, he had gotten drunk at dinner that night. She knew something was wrong. Then, on the way home, words just started pouring out of his mouth. He called her evil, a slut, and told her how he had spent the day in his bed with Summer.

She dropped him off at his house and sped away, not caring that it was his car she was driving. He walked into his house and was instantly bombarded with a deafening roar.

"SURPRISE!"

As he made his way through the foyer, he was wished happy birthdays by his friends and by some people he didn't even know. He was still drunk, but was instantly sobered when he caught a look at Finn's enraged face.

"You asshole!" Finn screamed across the house. It had caught the attention of the room. Music was still blaring and chatter from the living room could be heard, but not by Tristan. "Do you want to explain why your girlfriend is at home crying her eyes out?"

Logan was instantly by his side and, with the help of Colin, pulled him into his father's study. Paris, Rosemary and Stephanie weren't far behind.

"Ex-girlfriend." Tristan corrected once they were in the room.

"Oh, right. You seemed to have this preposterous idea that Rory and I are together. Let me ask you a question _Tristan._ Who the hell do you think spent the last month stressing to make this party perfect? Because let me tell you, it sure as hellwasn't me!"

Tristan suddenly went cold.

"And to show your appreciation, you go and spend the entire day that she spent the last month to make perfect for you with Summer! In bed!Summer! What kind of person does that?" Finn bellowed.

There was a sound of shattering glass and Tristan turned to see Paris, Rosemary, and Stephanie. They were just standing there with a look of utter disbelief on their faces.

"But I . . . But I thought she was . . ." Tristan trailed off.

"Cheating?" Finn finished.

Tristan nodded.

"No, that's something you would do. That girl loves you, she would never, and I mean never, do that to you."

They heard a gasp and they all looked to the door. There stood Francine Jarvis, the biggest gossip in the school. It seemed, while they had closed the door, they hadn't locked it.

* * *

(present)

They were all standing in Rory's room.

Their six friend's were all looking at Rory but she bore her eyes into Tristan, who looked right back.

He held out his hand for the piece of glass and she shook her head.

"You promised you stopped," he said.

"Well, I broke that promise. You of all people should understand that," she replied bitingly.

"What the hell is going on?" Paris whispered.

Rory took one last look at her friends, walked towards the door, and out of the room.

**

* * *

****I hoped you all liked it. Please Review!**


	3. Tears

**Society**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Beta:** just hidden

**Part Three: Tears**

_They were all standing in Rory's room._

_Their six friends were all looking at Rory but she bore her eyes into Tristan, who was looking right back._

_He held out his hand for the piece of glass and she shook her head._

"_You promised you stopped," he said._

"_Well, I broke that promise. You of all people should understand that," she replied bitingly._

"_What the hell is going on?" Paris whispered._

_Rory took one last look at her friends, walked towards the door, and out of the room._

* * *

He went after her. 

It wasn't like he was going to just let her go. Not again. Figuratively or literally.

She was waiting for him just on the other side of her door. A knowing yet cynical look had taken hold of her features. He just stood in her doorway, their friends crowding behind him. She turned and walked away.

He followed her. She knew he would.

As if they were playing follow the leader, all eight of them walked in a straight, single file line. They followed her down the back stairs, through the busy kitchen, and through the hidden door which blended in with the wall that led to the library.

Her library.

She doubted her parents even knew it existed. She had found the room one day on accident, when she had tripped and fell against the door. It became her summer project. Her parents had been in Europe that summer. She hired a contractor to create her book sanctuary. It was, without a doubt, her favorite room in the house.

It had been started and completed during the summer before her junior year. The walls were all shelves, filled with first editions that her parents, unknowingly, spent a small fortune on. New books also lived there. She always kept an eye out for a new favorite. On one wall, lived a flat screen plasma TV. The room was furnished with huge, brown leather couches which formed a square in the middle of the room. Off to the side was a small kitchenette that consisted of a refrigerator, a coffee maker, a microwave, and an overhead cabinet.

It was hidden. The way she wished her life could be.

Colin was the last one through the door and closed it before joining the others on the couches. Rory had deserted the group momentarily to make coffee. There was no way she was going to be in the same room with Tristan without coffee.

"What were you going to do in the bathroom?" Stephanie asked

Rory had yet to let go of the glass. She gripped it tightly in her hand so Tristan couldn't grab it out. She had made the coffee one handed.

"Rory," prompted Logan.

She didn't want to tell them.

"Whatever it is, it will be okay," Paris told her.

She shook her head. They all looked to Tristan, all except for Rosemary, who was sitting closest to Rory.

Rosemary bored her eyes into Rory's. It made her feel like the little girl with the pink backpack. Tristan looked at the two girls and noticed something that made his eyes widen with concern. Rory had gripped the glass so tightly, that it had cut into the palm of her hand. Paris followed his gaze and realized it as well.

"Rory, you're bleeding," Paris said.

Clairvoyantly, Rosemary looked to Rory'sright hand and saw the red substance ooze from the center. Taking Rory's hand in hers, Rosemary pried Rory's fingers apart. Rory gasped as her fist broke and Rosemary set the glass on the table.

Her friends watched on silently as Rosemary took Rory's other hand and turned it over. Rose moved her bracelets out of the way and gasped as she noticed the faint scars on her best friend's pale arm.

Rory refused to meet any of their eyes. She could feel their gazes traveling up and down her arm.

* * *

Tristan had never been taught to trust. In fact, if his father had ever taught him anything, it was to not trust anyone. 

His parents weren't like Rory's. Tristan knew, in their own way, his parents loved him. His mother was there. In fact, he had never had a nanny in his life. His father paid attention to his grades and would punish him if he did something wrong.

His father, however, was also a business man.

He worked long hours and was never known to take a day off. Tristan knew, and had known since he was eight, that he would soon be like his father. In some aspects anyway. Tristan knew he would go to Yale, and he knew he would become a lawyer.

But he wanted to.

He liked laws. He liked breaking them and defending them. He liked the thought of working, even thought he didn't want to do it just yet.

Business didn't have room for trust. That's why there were contracts and lawyers. No good, sane, businessman would make a deal with another businessman with out signing an iron clad contract, stating every single detail of their deal.

It was why he had to marry Rory.

He wasn't stupid. He knew the reason he and Rory were marrying was to ensure that neither the Dugreys nor the Haydens would get burned in this deal. It was brilliant. It was win/win.

Sure, it hurt their children. It shattered any chance there ever was for a parent/child relationship for any of them. So what if it hurt the kids' feelings?

Business didn't have room for feelings, but love did.

In love, feelings mattered. Hell, love was a feeling. Trust mattered. Supposedly, if you loved someone, then you believed what they said. You don't listen in on one phone call and automatically assume you were being cheated on. You don't sleep with someone else. You don't make the person you love cry.

But Tristan did.

* * *

(flashback) 

After she dropped Tristan off at his house on the night of his birthday, she pulled out of his driveway, and drove home. Her house was barely a five minute drive from his. As soon as she was safely in her room, door locked, she stopped holding back her tears. With shaking hands, she pressed a button on her cell phone that instantly dialed a number.

"Rory, love, where are you?" came Finn's joyous voice.

"I just . . . I just wanted to let you know that I won't . . . be there," she tried to say without sobbing.

"Why are you crying? What happened?" Finn asked urgently.

"He thinks . . . He slept with Summer. He thought you and I were together and he slept with Summ-," her sobs cut her off.

"I'll be right there, Love," Finn said before hanging up the phone.

She was distraught. She loved him. She loved Tristan and she thought he loved her. He had told her seven months ago that he loved her. It didn't make sense.

If she had had the strength, she would have gone to the bathroom and gotten the piece of glass that resided on her third shelf. She had time before Finn got there, but she was physically exhausted.

Slowly, Rory had laid on her bed and brought her knees to her chest, curling herself into a ball. She was sobbing.

She didn't know how long she had been crying when Rosemary, Paris, and Stephanie had come into her room. Finn came a few minutes later and Rory didn't notice the blood on his knuckles until later.

Finn waited outside the door as her friends uncurled her and changed her into her pajamas. Finn came back in and hugged her, letting her cry into his chest. She didn't remember how, but before she knew it they were in her library.

Her watch let her know it was just about midnight. Her head was in Stephanie's lap and she was lying on one of the couches. Stephanie stroked her hair as Rory continued to cry her eyes out. It amazed her that there were any tears left.

She had promised herself long ago that she would never let anyone get close enough to hurt her. Not like this. She wasn't supposed to fall in love. But she did. She wasn't supposed to be crying. But she was.

Suddenly, she heard someone yelling. Then, the door to the library swung open and Rory instantly stopped crying and sat upright on the couch. She knew who it was.

Her expression turned cold and distant and she wiped the tears in her eyes away. There was no way in hell she was going to let him see her like this.

It took all she had not to cry when he walked into the room. The skin around his eyes was starting to bruise and his lip was all bloody. He walked with a limp. Colin and Logan followed him. She refused to look him in the eye.

"Mary, please," he begged, quietly.

"I prefer cold hearted slut, if you don't mind," she replied callously.

He flinched as she repeated his words. She silently begged her friends to stay in the room, but they didn't. It didn't surprise her. Although Finn had to drag Paris out, they all knew that Tristan needed to have his chance to voice any final words.

"Mary, please look at me," he asked again.

"How could you think I was sleeping with Finn?" she asked somewhat calmly, still looking away.

"I overheard your phone call this morning," he responded honestly.

"And because of one phone call you throw away everything? Disregard the fact that we've been dating for over a year, the fact that I love you?"

"I was stupid," he whispered.

"Was is past tense," she said.

"I am stupid," he corrected himself. "I . . . Before you I had never loved someone. I heard your side of the call and I freaked. I know that was wrong, and I know I'm an asshole, and I know that what I did today-,"

"Don't you mean who?" she interrupted.

"I wanted you to hurt," he admitted quietly.

They sat in silence for a little while before Rory spoke up, "Why did you tell me you loved me?" she whispered, finally looking directly into his eyes.

"Because I do," he said, confused.

She shook her head, "No. No you don't. You never did."

And she walked out of the room.

* * *

She wouldn't meet any of their eyes. 

Rosemary's eyes, along with Stephanie's, were filled with tears. Rory didn't know if they were of fear or astonishment. Paris looked genuinely concerned and sympathetic. It was a look uncharacteristic of Paris and it scared Rory.

Finn looked heartbroken. Logan looked thoroughly confused, almost like he was thinking of a way to make it not true. Colin's eyes kept darting from Rory's arm to her eyes. Tristan's face was void of any emotion. He didn't know how to react.

The beep from the kitchenette letting everyone know the coffee was ready broke the silence.

Suddenly, Finn took the shard of glass in his hand and walked over to the kitchenette. Everyone, even Rory, watched him as he pulled out the trash can from under the sink and took the empty plastic bag out of the can. Finn put the glass in the bag and made sure the bag was tied before moving on. Before anyone knew it, Finn had put the bag on the ground and was stomping on the bag, no doubt breaking the glass into hundreds of microscopic pieces.

"If you ever do it again we're getting you professional help. I don't care how much you hate us, I don't care. We'll help you. But you're not doing it again." His voice was low, almost dangerous, and Rory could barely hear him, but she understood every word.

Tristan had tried the same thing once. He stole the glass from her and threw it away. She had just retrieved it as soon as he had left.

She hadn't cut in a while. It had been almost three months. She hadn't done it since February 12. About a week after Tristan's birthday. It was May now, there was only a month left of school. She had been determined to not cut until graduation. She had done well. She had had many close calls, tonight being one of them.

When only Tristan knew about it, it had been easy. But now, six people who loved her dearly knew. She didn't even count Tristan.

She had to stop now. Forever.

The scary part was she didn't know if she could.

* * *

The party ended about an hour and a half later. 

Rosemary, Stephanie, and Paris were staying over. She knew it was because they wanted to make sure she didn't hurt herself.

The guys had left already and all four of them had yet to leave the library. She could hear her mother calling her from outside the room, but ignored her.

When Rory could no longer hear the clack of her mother's heels, the four girls escaped up to Rory's room.

She loved her room.

It was spacious and had every electronic know to man. One corner of her room was furnished with big, comfortable chairs that one could easily fall asleep in. In fact, that was what she and her friends planned to do tonight; fall asleep in front of the TV.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Paris asked.

They were all in pajamas. Each of them had a different flavor of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and were sitting in one of the comfy chairs. Casablanca was ready to roll; all they had to do was press play.

Stephanie, who was in charge of the remotes, turned the TV off as she and Rosemary turned in their seat to face Rory, just as Paris had done.

It had been a trick, she realized.

They were never going to watch a movie. The three of them had planned this.

"Maybe," she whispered.

"Maybe?" Rosemary questioned.

"Are you disgusted with me?" Rory asked.

They knew what she was referring to.

"No," Stephanie said automatically. "We just want to make sure you never do it again."

"What if I can't? Stop, I mean," Rory asked. She sounded a little helpless. She didn't want to be a cutter, but she just couldn't stop. Not on her own.

"You'll be able to. It'll be hard, but you can do it," Paris assured her.

Rory nodded. None of them said anything for about a minute.

"Why is this happening?"

Just by her voice, her friends could tell Rory had tears in her eyes. Right there, in front of her friends, she broke down. And she cried.

* * *

Reluctantly, Tristan agreed to leave the party. He wasn't alone. Finn, Logan, and Colin went with him. 

He didn't want to see his parents, so Finn drove his black SUV to Logan's house. None of them said anything as they went into the house and down to the basement. It was sort of like Rory's library. Completely cut off from the rest of the house. Completely theirs.

Simultaneously, they took off their coats, ties, and dress shirts. They were left in their pants and undershirts.

"Well, this night sure didn't go as planned," voiced Colin. The others nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Finn asked Tristan.

"She made me promise," Tristan whispered.

"Yeah, well, you've broken promises to her before-," Finn started to say, but was cut off.

"Not right now Finn, please. Not right now," Tristan pleaded, desperation in his voice.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Logan inquired, voicing the thoughts of all of them.

"I don't know," Tristan replied honestly. "I really don't know."

* * *

They had finally made it to Casablanca. 

Rory still had tears running down her face, but she had calmed down considerably. A knock on the doorbroke the girl's concentration on whatever Humphrey Bogart was saying at the moment.

"Girls, may you please excuse us for a moment?"

Stephanie paused the movie and the four turned to see Lorelai standing in the doorway, society smile in place. Paris looked to Rory and she nodded.

"Sure," mumbled Rosemary as she left the room, Stephanie and Paris behind her.

Lorelai stepped aside to let the girls out and closed the door behind them. Rory got out of her chair and sat on her bed.

"Lorelai," Lorelai started. "I know what happened tonight was a bit of a shock."

"Just a bit?" Rory scoffed, interrupting her mother.

"I know that right now it may seem like this is the worse thing in the world, but from what I've heard, Tristan is a nice boy. Plus, he's pretty cute," Lorelai tried to lighten the conversation.

"I could really give a shit about how he looks," Rory spat.

"Lorelai," her voice had turned stern, "don't talk to me like that. I know that this isn't what you had in mind, but life doesn't always turn out the way you want it too. Now, Mrs. Dugrey and I will meet you tomorrow at the club and I expect you to be on your best behavior. I know-," Rory cut her off.

"_You know?_ You don't know anything about me!" Rory exclaimed. Lorelai rolled her eyes which only gave Rory more incentive to continue her rant. "Let me fill you in on some things. First, nobody calls me Lorelai. Second, Tristan Dugrey is my ex-boyfriend. If you had ever paid attention to anyone but yourself, you would know that we dated for over a year until he cheated on me. Third, the only reason my life isn't turning out the way I want it to be is because you and Dad care more about business than you do about me. Fourth, there is no way in hell that I will meet you and Mrs. Dugrey at the club. And the last thing you should know is that I hate you! I don't give a shit if that sounds horrible, because it's the truth! So don't come in and try to act like my friend with the whole 'He's cute' thing because I have enough friends. The one thing I don't have is a mother!"

* * *

Lorelai just stood there. 

It was like deja vu. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Everything her daughter had said was true. She and Chris had put business before their daughter, and Emily had never done that. Lorelai remembered her mother calling her father at the office and yelling at him to come home in time to make it home for Lorelai's dance recital. Lorelai didn't even know if her daughter had even taken dance.

Without another word, Lorelai walked out of her daughter's room. She knew that Lorelai's, or whatever her name was, friends had heard their conversation. Lorelai stood by the doorway as the three girls went back into the room.

"Are you okay Rory?" Pairs asked.

Rory. Is that what she went by?

"I hate her," was all she heard her daughter whisper.

And that was when it dawned on her.

She was worse then her mother.

* * *

**Thanks so much for all the reviews!**

**Okay, so I know that it seems kind of impossible that Lorelai and Rory are that cut off from each other, but just go with it. I got some reviews asking for Lorelai and Rory to be closer and I'm pretty sure that they will become closer, but I don't think it is possible for them to be like they are on the show. In this fic, achieving a normal mother/daughter relationship for them is out of the question. **

**Please review!**


	4. Meanings

**Society**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Beta:** just hidden

**Part Four: Meanings**

* * *

Emily Gilmore was in shock.

Her son-in-law had just announced her granddaughter's engagement to Tristan Dugrey; sputtering off some tale about how the two had kept their relationship it a secret.

There were multiple ways in which she knew he was lying.

One way was that his nostrils flared when he lied.

Another was the look of complete and utter shock on Rory's face when he made his announcement.

And the final reason she knew he was lying was simple. She knew Rory.

Emily hadn't even known she had a granddaughter until she found Lorelai and Christopher in Stars Hollow. Ever since she laid eyes on Rory she had been in love.

Same with Francine.

It didn't take much to notice that Lorelai wasn't much of a mother. Sure, Emily had hired the nannies, but Lorelai hadn't even asked them about her own daughter. After awhile, Emily had fired the nanny, and cared for the child herself. It was like a do over.

However, Emily soon noticed the subtle differences between Lorelai and Rory. As a baby, Lorelai had been loud and outspoken. Rory, on the other hand, was quiet and didn't fuss at all when she accompanied Emily to her DAR meetings as a toddler. Emily noticed how Rory liked to read and was eager to buy her books as she grew up, books that Lorelai would never have touched if she wasn't forced.

She knew she pressured Rory, but she didn't want her to become her mother. She wanted Rory to be able to enjoy college before getting married. She had acted like a mother to Rory, and in turn, Rory sometimes confided in her.

It wasn't like they were best friends or anything, but they had a good relationship.

Rory had told her about Tristan. Emily had helped her get ready for their first date. She had wanted to do things properly. You know, have his family over for dinner one night. However, Rory hadn't wanted to.

Emily didn't want Rory to hate her like Lorelai did.

She knew his parents knew about their past relationship. She and Tristan's mother had had lunch together at the club a few times. It had broken Emily's heart to see Rory in the state she was in after she and Tristan had ended their relationship.

Emily Gilmore was not a stupid woman.

She knew Rory had slept with Tristan. She didn't like it, but she tolerated it. She didn't want Rory to leave. It was her disadvantage in their relationship. Whether Rory knew it or not, her grandmother would do pretty much anything to stay in her life.

* * *

(flashback)

School the next day had been hell.

Francine Jarvis had sure done a bang up job at getting the word out. Everyone was staring at her. Or at least they tried, the cocoon that Paris, Stephanie, and Rosemary had formed around her blocked their gazes. But that wasn't what they were protecting her from.

They were protecting her from Tristan.

He walked in as soon as she got to her locker. Anyone with the ability to see could tell he was in pain. Colin, Logan, and Finn trailed behind him, ready to pull him away from any situation that would get him into even more trouble.

She knew when he entered the hallway.

She didn't see him. The reactions of their spectators were enough. First, the hall went silent. Then, whispers filled the hall and the expressions on her friends faces tensed. Rory took a deep breath and continued to get her books for class.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him trudge to his own locker and open it. It was then that it hit her.

Half of her books were in his locker, and half of his were in her's.

It didn't make sense, really. Their lockers weren't that far away from each other. Sometime along the course of their relationship, books were mixed up, and after awhile they didn't bother. Both of them used both lockers. Of course, that would change now.

Slowly, she stacked up his books, one by one.

She knew that all eyes were on her as she walked the few yards to his locker. Keeping her eyes glued to her feet, she held out her arms, hoping he would just take his books and give her her's.

But it wasn't that simple.

Rory had made the mistake of looking up just as he looked at her. Their eyes met and her heart broke all over again.

* * *

(flashback)

Logan and Colin had barged into his room and made him get out of bed this morning; he didn't want to face the world, face her.

They had thrown the curtains open and taken the pillow off his face. They weren't going to let him wallow all day. He knew what they were thinking. _He doesn't deserve to wallow_.

Finn was waiting in his car. Tristan silently climbed into the back seat and waited for the others to get in. He hoped that she wouldn't be there, that maybe she had stayed home. But he knew it was useless.

She would be there.

He hadn't bothered to tighten his tie. It just hung around his neck. His dress shirt was un-tucked and he was unshaved. Basically, he looked like crap.

He spotted her as soon as he entered the hall where her locker was. His was a few down from hers.

It took all of his strength not to push her up against the closed locker and ask for forgiveness with his tongue. He knew one of their friends would have stopped him. He opened his locker slowly. He knew she was eyeing him, but he didn't know if that was a good thing.

A buzz took hold of the corridor and someone to his left cleared their throat. It was her. He looked to her immediately and saw she was holding out his text books to him. He also noticed that she wasn't looking at him.

He let her stand there for a moment until she finally gazed into his eyes. It was then that all of his strength flew out the window.

He took the book out of her arms, threw them into his locker, and took hold of her arm. Somehow he was able to pull her into an unused classroom without being punched out by Finn or Paris. He pulled down the shade to cover the window on the door and locked it.

She still wouldn't look at him. He could hear Paris screaming at him to open the door from the other side. He figured he had a limited amount of time before one of them picked the lock.

"I know you're mad, but will you please just look at me?" he pleaded. She gave him nothing.

"OPEN THE DOOR DUGREY!"

Rory just turned her eyes to the blackboard.

"I'm sorry. Please Baby; please you have to forgive me." He was begging now and he didn't even care.

"Can I have my books please?" Rory whispered, still avoiding eye contact.

"Not until you talk to me," he said in a strangled tone.

The door burst open and Paris wasted no time. She barged into the classroom and pulled on Rory's arm, leading her out.

When he went to his locker after lunch, he noticed her stuff was no longer there.

She was gone.

* * *

She walked into school the next day alone.

Everyone knew. It hadn't been released to the press yet, but gossip spread like wildfire in Hartford.

Her fellow students knew that their parents had been lying when they said that she and Tristan had been hiding their relationship.

She knew she should have been tired. Considering how late she and her friends had stayed up last night, they should have all been sleeping. Actually, her friends still were. She wondered what their faces would look like when they woke up to discover her gone.

Rory opened her locker and got her books for first period. It was a class she shared with Finn and Colin. The bell rang as she slammed her locker closed and went into the classroom across the way. She sat in the back.

"I thought you would be home," Finn greeted her as he and Colin took the seats to her left.

"I didn't want to," she said, not knowing for sure if that made sense.

"It's not like any of us have to be here anyway," Colin said. "It's the last month of school. We all have our acceptance letters. This is pointless."

"Yes, but Rory needs to secure her spot as valedictorian," Finn reminded Colin.

"Ah, yes. Are you still in the lead Ror?" Colin asked.

Rory nodded. "Somehow my grandfather found out. He's thrilled."

"Okay, people. Let's turn our books to page 200 and . . ." Rory tuned out her math teacher. Colin was right.

This was all pointless.

* * *

Tristan heard the whispering as he walked down the corridor just in time to see Rory disappear into one of the classrooms. He stared after her for a moment for going to his locker and getting his stuff.

Once in his classroom, he sat in his usual seat, back corner, closest to the door and next to Logan, and pretended to listen to whatever the teacher was talking about. Something about World War 2.

He couldn't get Rory's face out of his mind. Now, that wasn't an irregular problem. You see, he had been infatuated with her since the sixth grade. He had wanted her (in the biblical sense) since his first kissed her. And now he did have her.

Forever.

But she didn't want him. And it killed him that it was his fault.

"Mr. Dugrey? Mr. Dugrey?"

Mrs. Caldecott's voice scattered his thoughts as he sat up in his chair and turned his head to face the front of the room. Everyone was looking at him.

"Yes?"

"What were the contributing factors that led to World War 2?" the teacher repeated.

"I don't know," Tristan whispered as he moved his eyes to his desk.

Lie.

"Are you sure?" the Mrs. Caldecott asked.

"Yes."

"Mr. Huntzberger, then?"

Logan recited off the exact words from the text book and the teacher moved on.

"Dude, what's up?" Logan asked.

Tristan was about to answer when the door opened. He looked helpless when he saw who it was.

"Mrs. Caldecott, I'm sorry to interrupt, but," Rory accidentally let her eyes travel over to Tristan, something that he didn't let go unnoticed, "Ms. Henton was wondering if you had any index cards."

Mrs. Caldecott walked over to her desk. She searched for about a minute before looking over to Rory. "You know, I think I saw some in the storage room. I'll be right back."

Rory watched the teacher walk out of the room and she nervously sat down at the desk nearest the door. The desk that was right next to Logan. She didn't have to look up to know that everyone in the room had their two eyes on her.

"How you doin' Ace?" Logan whispered.

Rory just shrugged.

"I had a fight with Lorelai last night and I didn't want to be on the same street as her. Steph, Paris, and Rosemary are still sleeping," she whispered.

"You talked to your Mom?" Tristan blurted out.

Her eyes snapped to him and she almost couldn't believe he would talk to her. His eyes stayed with hers and she moved them away. Tristan knew she would ignore his question.

"Anyway, Paris is probably going to have a heart attack when she finds out I went to school without her," Rory laughed.

Logan just smiled supportably. Tristan snapped.

"So are we just going to go through this entire thing without talking to each other?" he asked.

Rory looked to the blackboard.

"Oh, very grown up Rory," he said sarcastically.

She continued to stare and he knew just the right buttons to push to make her talk.

"So, this whole marriage thing. Are we going to be able to see other people? I hope we do," he said, not really meaning it.

"You asshole," she hissed, finally turning to face him.

"Well, at least you're talking to me," he replied.

"Believe me Tristan, I don't want to!"

"Well, Rory that's too damn bad! We've both been put in a shitty situation and it's not helping any that you're acting like a three year-old," he yelled.

"Don't start an argument on my bad behavior because we both know I'll win!" she shouted.

"Says the person who completely disregards another because of a mistake!" he shouted back.

They were both out of their seats by now.

"To the person who's 'simple mistake' was not trusting his girlfriend of over a year, who he supposedly loves, and screwing a brainless, blonde slut who couldn't keep her knees together if her life depended on it!" she replied.

"It meant nothing!" he screamed back at her. "Besides, you wouldn't even let me talk. You-." She cut him off.

"Because I was mad at you not because I stopped loving you!" Her face went blank after she realized whet she had just said. He looked upon her helplessly and was about to speak when Mrs. Caldecott walked back into the room.

"Here you go," she handed Rory the index cards and went back to the front of the room. It was then when she realized that she had just interrupted something.

"Rory," Tristan stared, his tone was a little shaken.

"I . . . um . . . bye," and she ran out the door.

* * *

"All right people, this test is serious business and I hope that-," Ms. Henton was interrupted when Rory Hayden ran into the classroom and turned the lock on the handle. She was breathing heavily as she sunk to the ground, back against the door.

"Love, what happened?" Finn asked as he and Colin got up.

Everyone's eyes were on the three friends.

"Tristan's teacher had to leave the room and . . . I said something," Rory whispered.

Finn and Colin exchanged a nervous look. "What did you say?" Colin asked.

Rory opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by someone banging on the door. "What does that mean?" Tristan yelled.

Rory looked down. Now the class was completely enthralled. They had been waiting for this for months; for the inevitable public battle of Rory Hayden and Tristan Dugrey.

"YOU NEED TO TELL ME WHAT THAT MEANS!" Tristan shouted. Rory would bet her entire trust fund (both of them) that everyone in the school could hear him.

"Make him go away," Rory whispered.

"Like that's going to happen," Colin muttered under his breath. Finn hit him.

"Mary, please, you need to tell me what that means," his voice was softer.

Finn looked from Rory to the door and did something that he knew Rory would berate him for later. He gently moved her out of the way. Then, before Rory could stop him, Colin unlocked and opened the door and Tristan fell into the room.

Tristan looked around the room and spotted her sitting next to the door. He crouched down next to Rory, and put his hands on the wall, preventing her from getting up.

"Mary, tell me what that means," he whispered so softly that Rory was the only one who could hear him.

What happened next was unexpected. She didn't yell. She didn't kick him and make a run for it. She didn't do anything except for look up into his eyes.

Right then and there, Rory Hayden let Tristan Dugrey see her cry.

* * *

**I hoped you all liked this chapter. Please review. And, yes, I don know that what Rory said was from _Friends_.**


	5. Caring

**Society**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Beta:** just hidden

**Part Five: Caring**

* * *

She brought her gaze back down. 

She refused to look him in the eye again. It was to Rory's knowledge that the eyes were the window to the soul. She'd rather cry the rest of her life then let him see into her soul. Taking deep, slow breaths, Rory pushed herself off the floor and stood, her legs shaking.

Tristan had risen with her and his arms kept their place on her forearms. She couldn't shake them of any more then she could shake the feeling of everyone's eyes on her and Tristan.

"Let go of me," she whispered, tears freely flowing down her face.

He didn't, and she wasn't surprised.

"I want . . . I need for you to tell me what that means," he replied firmly.

"What do you think it means?' she replied harshly, a little annoyed.

"I think it means that after we broke up you still loved me," he replied slowly, a little unsure of himself.

Rory scoffed and looked around the classroom, avoiding his gaze at any cost. The bell had rung, but no one moved from their seats. She knew without looking that a crowd had gathered outside the classroom and she wondered why Colin and Finn or Logan didn't do anything about it.

"Well then why the hell did you ignore me!" he shouted, confused if anything else. "For a week I did nothing but try to talk to you and you wouldn't give me the time of day!"

She broke her own rule and looked up into his eyes, "And after one week you stopped trying. You, Tristan DuGrey, who stops at nothing to get what he wants, stopped. You stopped fighting and you stopped caring. You, who asked me out repeatedly for a month before I agreed, stopped trying after one week to fix it!" she exclaimed. "And you stopped caring," she repeated quietly.

His eyes widened in surprise and his face held a look of sorrow. Colin, Logan, and Finn ordered everyone out of the room, even the teacher. They closed the door behind the last person but remained in the room.

"So I stopped caring too. I don't care anymore! I don't care when you make out with girls against you locker, I don't care that you didn't trust me, I don't care that you cheated on me, I don't care-"

"Rory," he pleaded.

"I don't care that as soon as you thought I was cheating on you, you didn't even confront me. I would have been pissed at you, yes, but you didn't even wait an hour after I was gone to . . ." she broke off as tears continued to pour out of eyes.

Tristan looked crestfallen and tears had begun to flood his eyes. Logan, Colin, and Finn looked almost afraid to be there.

"You stopped caring, so I stopped caring too!! I don't care! I don't care! I don't-!" Tristan's lips cut her off.

In one swift movement, Tristan moved his arm to her waist and pulled her as close as humanly possible. He wasted no time in roughly pressing his lips to hers. She pushed him away at once and they broke contact for a second. Tristan, however, pulled her back to him without missing a beat and, this time, even though her mind was screaming at her to stop, she began to respond. Tristan moved his other hand to the back of her neck and the action seemed to bring a sense of realization to her. Rory immediately broke the contact and moved away from Tristan.

"Rory," he started.

"I don't care," she repeated, although her voice contradicted her as it cracked and more tears came rolling down her face.

Rory reached for the door and turned the handle. Outside, a crowd waited, but she didn't care. She pushed her way through and it was only when her sobs were no longer carried to the classroom did Tristan notice she was gone.

* * *

Finn and Colin ran after her, leaving Logan to deal with Tristan. 

"She did kiss back, right?" Tristan asked, his eyes searching the floor helplessly. He hoped he hadn't imagined it.

"Yeah," Logan whispered.

"I need a drink," Tristan muttered, running his hand through his hair as he sunk against the wall.

"I think you should jut be glad Paris wasn't here today. She probably would have castrated you by now," Logan said in all seriousness.

"She still just might," Tristan replied.

Logan nodded.

Students from the next class started to filter into the classroom and Logan and Tristan got up.

There was no way they were going to their next period class.

They made it to the parking lot just in time to see Rory slap Colin across the face.

* * *

Rory could only see the door that would free her from this prison as she made her way down the hallway. She could feel the gazes of her classmates and could hear the cries of Finn and Colin for her to slow down. Rory ignored them (both: the gazes and the cries). 

However, one of her friends caught up with her and put a hand on her arm to stop her. When that didn't work, the hand tightened to a grasp, immobilizing Rory. She was surprised to find that the hand belonged to Colin.

He released his grasp and Rory started walking again, but this time slow enough for Colin and Finn to keep up with each other.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Rory sniped. "Why did you let him in?"

Before an answer was given she walked out to the parking lot, giving the boys no choice but to follow.

"Rory, stop!" Colin called.

Surprising enough, she did.

"I'm sorry, Love. It's just time that you and Dugrey worked this out," Finn told her.

"So you want me to forgive him?" Rory asked, eyebrows raised. When Finn and Colin avoided her gaze, she knew the answer.

"You're unbelievable," she muttered before continuing her walk to her car. Finn and Colin, once again, followed.

"He's been suffering for this as long as you have, and you know it. I'm not saying what he did was right but we both know that he didn't mean any of it," Colin called after her.

Rory started to walk faster and so did Colin and Finn.

"You are not the only victim in this predicament!" Colin yelled.

Rory spun around and slapped Colin.

Hard.

* * *

Rory ran into her house as if someone was chasing her. Continuing her fast pace, she ran up to her room where Paris had just woken up. 

"Why are you dressed fro school Hayden? We're late anyways," Paris said sleepily.

"I just got back from Chilton," Rory said stoically.

"WHAT?" Paris screeched, loud enough for Rosemary and Stephanie to wake up.

"What's going on?" Stephanie asked groggily.

"I'm sorry I slapped your boyfriend," Rory whispered.

"Colin is not my- Wait, you slapped Colin?" Stephanie asked in astonishment.

"Why?" Rosemary asked.

"I kind of made the poor choice of going to school today," Rory told them, looking at her feet.

"Hayden, you are not that stupid. What in the hell were you thinking?" Paris chastised.

"And I might have kissed Tristan," Rory continued. When Rory looked up, she found her friends staring at her in pure astonishment. "It's been a long day," she added.

"Explain," was all Paris could say.

* * *

Lorelai was walking out of the DAR as Emily ran up to her.

"Lorelai, we need to talk," Emily said in a no-nonsense voice.

"Not now Mother," Lorelai brushed her off.

"Yes, now," Emily demanded.

"Fine, what?" Lorelai huffed, turning to face her mother.

Emily looked around the parking lot. "You want to do this _here_?"

An exasperated Lorelai responded, "Well, you're the one that initiated this conversation."

They reached Lorelai's car and she got in, not expecting Emily to join her in the front passenger seat. "Mom what the hell are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Emily replied.

"Excuse me?"

"What in the world was going through your mind when you decided to marry Rory off to Tristan Dugrey?" Emily asked.

"That's none of your business," Lorelai snapped.

"The happenings in my granddaughter's life are very much my business Lorelai," Emily replied.

"Look, whatever you think you know, you don't," Lorelai shot back.

"I know more about your daughter then you do," Emily scoffed.

"You do not," Lorelai retorted, her voice low and dark.

"Where do you think she is every Wednesday night Lorelai?" Emily asked. "Or do you even care anymore."

"I care," Lorelai replied weakly.

"Then where is she every Wednesday night?" Emily repeated knowingly.

Lorelai was at a loss for words, which was fine with Emily, because she had a lot to say.

"I'll tell you where she is. On Wednesday she's at school with Paris and Logan. She's co-editor of the Franklin, which by the way, it her school newspaper. Did you know that?" Emily asked.

Lorelai couldn't honestly answer that she did, so she said nothing.

"Did you know that she will most likely be valedictorian of her class?" Emily asked in a condescending tone.

All Lorelai could to was shake her head.

"Do you want to know how _I_ know all of this?" Emily inquired.

Lorelai nodded.

"Every Tuesday night Rory comes over for dinner at out house. She since she was thirteen. Oh, and every other Saturday she usually meets with Straub and Francine at the club. A Supreme Court Justice can make time for his granddaughter; what's your excuse?" Emily spat.

Emily got out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Once again, they were all staring at Rory. Their faces held look of astonishment and they were gaping. 

"So he kissed you, you pushed him away, he kisses you again, and . . ." Paris trailed off.

"I let him kiss me," Rory admitted. She flopped back onto her bad and buried her face into her pillow. She let out a frustrated sigh, "It was a hell of a kiss too."

All the sudden, _I'm too Sexy_ started coming from Paris's phone. "I'm going to kill Finn," Paris muttered before answering her phone. She stepped out into the hall to talk.

"Why did you slap Colin?" Stephanie asked.

Rory looked away for a minute. "I was stressed and he started saying things, then I started saying things, and then he said that I wasn't the only victim in the thing that happened with me and Tristan. I mean, I know Tristan is hurting too. I'm not stupid. But he slept with someone else. He didn't trust me and he slept with . . ." Rory trailed off the wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes. "He's even started dating again."

Rosemary and Stephanie hugged Rory as Paris walked back into the room.

"What did Finn want?" Rory asked, not bothering to wipe the tears out of her eyes.

"He just wanted to make sure you're okay," Paris answered with a tight smile. Rory knew that meant that he wanted to make sure that she hadn't cut herself. "So what does this mean? For you and Tristan?" Paris clarified.

"It means I avoid him as long as possible," Rory responded. She saw her friends start to object but cut them off, "Tristan was the one constant in my life. He took care of me and he loved me and . . . Then he said all of these things and he was so cold. What would you do if the love of your life called you a bitchy slut and then cheated on you, realized his mistake, and apologized? Would you take him back?"

"No," Paris answered. The other two girls shook their head.

"Even if you still loved him?" Rory asked.

* * *

Tristan sat on the curb that connected with the parking lot from which Rory had just driven away from. Logan had run over to Colin and Finn but Tristan had stayed put. 

He couldn't get that kiss out of his mind. It felt so good to kiss her again.

He knew from their first kiss that she was it for him. It wasn't teenage love and it wasn't lust. She was all that mattered and he was stupid enough to let her go without putting up much of a fight.

Tristan wasn't going to make that mistake twice.

He was going to fight for her. He was going to do whatever it took to get her back. No holding back. First thing was first though, he needed to make sure she was okay and since he couldn't do that, Finn would have to.

Tristan got up from the curve and went over to Finn who was talking with Colin and Logan. He could see the red hand imprint starting to form on Colin's face.

"Can you call Paris?" Tristan asked.

"Why are you asking me to call my girlfriend?" Finn wanted to know.

"Just call her," he replied with clenched teeth.

With a sigh, Finn took out his phone and, with a press of a button, called Paris. "Hello, Love. Aren't you just ecstatic to be-?" Tristan cut Finn off by taking the phone out of his hand.

"Paris, its Tristan, don't hang up," Tristan said in a hurry.

"Go on," Paris said softly.

"Rory is coming home and I need you to make sure she doesn't do anything . . . rash," Tristan told her.

"She's already here. I can't believe you kissed her!" Paris scolded.

"Yeah, well, she didn't' exactly stop me . . . the second time. Besides she said that she didn't stop loving me, what was I supposed to do?" Tristan asked.

There was silence on the other line.

"Paris?"

"Did she really slap Colin?" Paris asked.

Tristan laughed, "Oh yeah. I just wish I knew what he said."

Paris was quiet again.

"Paris?" Tristan asked suspiciously.

"Okay, got to go. Bye," Paris ended their conversation.

Shaking his head, Tristan closed the phone and handed it back to Finn, who was looking quite put out. He could have sworn he heard Finn mumbling something about not having strippers at his bachelor party.

Tristan still had one question.

What did Rory mean?

* * *

**Okay, that was chapter five. Sorry it took forever to get out. I had about five pages of it saved on my computer forever and then finally decided to finish. So, as you know, this chapter showed a little more about the Emily/Rory relationship and the Rory/Lorelai relationship; and a tiny bit about the Emily/Lorelai relationship. As I've said in previous chapters, the relationship between Rory and Lorelai will get better, but it won't be normal or even close to what it is on the show. Hope you all liked it. Please review.**


	6. Confrontations

He wasn't supposed to be there

**Society**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Confrontations**

(break)

Tristan didn't like apologizing to Finn.

But then again, was he supposed to enjoy apologizing to his best friend after accusing him of bedding his girlfriend? No, he didn't think so either.

_It had been three days since his eighteenth birthday. He had been an adult for less than seventy-two hours and he was already fucking things up. It was a Friday and the school was almost empty. Tristan had gotten a ride from Logan to school that day; he was too hung over to drive. However, Logan had gotten a better offer than driving a moody Tristan home. This offer had been blonde and a little slutty; plus, was of the female variety. _

_Tristan had walked out to the parking lot and saw Finn leaning against his own car. Her car was there too. Finn was just there, leaning against the black SUV as if this was the only place he wanted to be right now. Tristan finished his walk and stood by his friend, or former, he didn't know yet._

"_I'm an asshole," Tristan threw out there._

"_Yes, you are," Finn replied without even a hint of sarcasm._

"_And an idiot," Tristan added._

_Finn nodded in agreement._

"_And I don't deserve your friendship," Tristan continued,_

"_Bloody right," Finn agreed._

_They were both silent for a moment._

"_I'm sorry," Tristan finally said._

_Finn pushed off the car and walked over to the driver's door. "Get in the fucking car," Finn muttered. Tristan never questioned him._

He and Finn had never really talked about it again. Their friendship had never really been the same. There was still some underlying tension that would always be there. But talking to Rory after locking them in a classroom had been worse,

"_Mary, please," Tristan begged, following her to her locker._

"_Don't call me that," she spat, breaking her own rule of completely ignoring him._

_Brightening up at the fact that she was talking to him, Tristan stayed strong, "What I id was wrong and I'm a horrible person, but I love you. Please, come with, let's get out of this place and we'll . . . . ." Tristan trailed off as Rory slammed her locker door shut and walked away, "Talk."_

_He didn't see the tears running down her face as she left._

(break)

"What the hell were you thinking?" asked Colin as he pulled a bottle of scotch out of the hotel liquor cabinet?

"I think it was safe to say that he bloody wasn't!" Finn answered before Tristan could get his mouth open. "I mean seriously man, did you seriously believe that you could kiss her without her running away? We are talking about Rory Hayden here, she doesn't exactly welcome confrontations."

"Yes, Finn, I got it. Kissing her wasn't the greatest idea. But she did-," Tristan was cut off.

"Kiss you back, we know," Logan finished for him as he took his glass of scotch from Colin. They were sitting in the living room of a hotel that Colin was staying at while his fourth stepmother redecorated his father's house. "It still doesn't mean anything."

Tristan downed all three finger of scotch in one gulp and put the glass back in front of Colin, letting him know he wanted more. "It was her fault."

Colin reluctantly filled the glass and pushed it back across the table to his friend, "How so?"

"Because, she says these things, and then she runs away, and she expects me not to do anything!" Tristan downed the other glass. "I mean, she said she still loves me! Or at least she did after we broke up. That has to mean something, right?"

Logan started to respond when Tristan grabbed his scotch from his hand, downed it, and continued.

"I know what I did is wrong, but we're getting _married_. She has to talk to me! And I know that her kissing me back could just be written off as a reflex, but it wasn't. I know Rory and I know how she kisses, and that was not a reflex kiss. That wasn't even an accidental kiss."

"It couldn't have been that good a kiss, she did runaway crying after all," Finn couldn't help but mention.

Tristan didn't seem to hear him, " You know what. I'm tired of this. She can't just not talk to me and then, months later, say that while she wasn't talking to me she still loved me and then blame the fact that she got over me on me for dating other people, blow my fucking mind out with a kiss, and then just run away again. I won't let her!" Tristan slurred.

Logan, Colin, and Finn just looked confused.

Tristan jumped up, grabbed his keys, and took off. It took a second for Logan, who was the only one of them not even slightly inebriated to run after him.

(break)

Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden knew she messed up.

She was only fifteen when she had gotten pregnant, only sixteen when she had become a mother, and was eighteen when she made a decision. She wasn't going to let having a baby ruin her dreams.

Lorelai loved her daughter, but she could still have a life.

She and Chris went to Yale, got their degrees, and did everything it took for them to make it in the business world. They were selfish, cutthroat, and looked out for themselves. They worked hard and played hard. She would reason that she shouldn't have to miss out having fun just because she had a child. Now that she and Chris were married and had their own money, they could do whatever they wanted.

Lorelai was thirty-four when she realized that she couldn't be selfish and a good parent at the same time.

This realization came to her when she saw Tristan Dugrey getting out of Logan Huntzberger's in her driveway. When she saw him walk into the foyer as is if he had been there a hundred times.

For all Lorelai knew, he had. She and Chris weren't exactly active parents. Hell, they were on business trips about 300 days out of the year. It wasn't exactly comforting when Tristan ran up the stairs, closely followed by Logan, and seemed to know exactly where her daughter's room was.

(break)

Tristan storming into her room for the second time in two days wasn't doing anything great for her mood.

"We need to talk," he said as he across the cream colored carpet in her bedroom, trying not to notice that the only thing covering her was a camisole and pajama shorts.

Rosemary, Stephanie, and Paris jumped as the door jumped open. "What the hell do you think you're . . . ." Paris trailed off as she noticed Logan was there as well. "You really think bringing him here was the best idea," she wasn't the non-intoxicated blonde.

"Hey, it was either I drive him or he drive himself. If I let him do that he'd probably kill himself and end up on the six o'clock news," Logan defended.

"Well, that would make life a lot easier wouldn't it," spoke Rory, " Now get out!"

There was no question as to who that was to.

"No!"

"I don't want to talk to you," Rory hissed, not noticing Rosemary and Stephanie subtly making their way out of the room.

"Well that's just too damn bad. The game has changed, you don't get to shut me out anymore!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Are you drunk?" Rory asked in disbelief. Stephanie and Rose had made it out of the room and were waiting for Paris and Logan to do the same.

"That's beside the point, we have to talk!" Tristan's voice covered up the sound of the door closing as their four friends entered the clear zone.

"Oh, you mean our last drunken conversation on your birthday wasn't enough for you? What, you want to call me a whore again, is that it?" Rory shot back.

"Look, I can only apologize so many times for that, and if we weren't in the situation we were in the you could just go on ignoring me. However, with out upcoming nuptials and all, I think its best to set aside out differences and make the best of things." He had to hand it to himself, he really thought that was a good argument. Especially with him being a little tipsy.

He really was an idiot when he drank.

"_Set it aside?,"_ Rory couldn't believe what she was hearing. He wanted her to basically forgive and forget. To just throw aside the fact that she had trusted him, that she had given him everything she had, and that he had destroyed it. Had destroyed her, them, her heart.

She didn't want to scream at him. She didn't care if it was childish or stupid, but she wasn't to keep on ignoring him. Ignoring the fact that he existed. Her eyes filed up with tears as she remembered why she couldn't just forgive him.

"You broke my heart!" she cried. "Do you think I want to be mad at you? Do you think I want to look at you and only be able to see you with another person? I thought you loved me!"

A little taken aback b her exclamation, Tristan stuttered, "I-I did, do."

Rory shook her head furiously, tears flying off her face. "No. When you love someone you trust them. When you love someone, you don't sleep with another person just because you _suspect _that they might be lying to you. When you love someone, it takes you more than a week to . . ." Rory trailed off because she was crying so hard she started hyperventilating.

Tristan, stunned by her emotional outburst, did the only thing he could think of. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her. She seemed to sink into him and he could feel her tears sinking into his uniform. He leaned back against the wall and sunk to the floor, still holding her.

"Why didn't you love me?" she whispered through her tears.

"I do," he whispered back, his own eyes starting to blur.

"Then how c-c-could you do that?" she sobbed.

He continued to hold her, hoping that every passing second wouldn't be the last that he held her in his arms.

(break)

**Okay, I know it's been awhile. Sorry. This chapter is unbeta'd, so sorry for any mistakes or if it doesn't make sense. Please review!!**


	7. Manic Mondays

**Society**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Manic Mondays**

* * *

Paris Gellar was a force to be reckoned with.

It was obvious to anyone at Chilton that if there was one person you really didn't want to piss off, she was that person. She was nine the first time she made a teacher cry and by thirteen, had been responsible for a certain guidance counselors' resigning. Rumor was, she was holed up in some mental health facility.

Paris took no prisoners. She protected those nearest and dearest, and didn't take any bullshit. She had absolutely no problem telling people what they didn't want to hear. It was this factor of her personality that led to Rory to be spending Monday afternoon in this room facing some lady, who kept looking at her, waiting for her to talk.

Yes, she was now seeing a psychiatrist.

After Paris walked in on her sobbing in Tristan's arms, she kicked Tristan out of her room and she, Rosemary, and Stephanie scoured her entire room for sharp objects. They had gotten everything. The shard of glass in the bathroom, the razor blade taped to the back of her lamp, and the Swiss Army knife hidden under her mattress were now gone. Then, Paris did the worst thing ever: she told the grandmothers. Which led to her sitting in front of a lady, who was no doubt making hundreds of dollars an hour, who was waiting for Rory to tell her deepest darkest secrets.

Paris and Rory weren't really talking right now.

"So, Lorelai, why do you think you're here," asked Dr. Shrink (the name Rory decided to call her).

"Rory," she corrected.

"I'm sorry?" Dr. Shrink inquired.

"My mother's name in Lorelai, I go by Rory."

Dr. Shrink wrote something down on her note pad and waited for Rory to answer her first question.

"My friend Paris told my grandmothers that I sometimes cut myself, they freaked, and it was either come here or tell my parents," Rory answered.

Dr. Shrink wrote some other things down before continuing, "Are you close with your grandparents?"

"I guess."

"Closer to them then you are to your parents?"

"Yes," Rory confirmed.

"Do your parents know where you are right now?"

Rory shrugged, "They don't really ask about my day-to-day activities."

Dr. Shrink made another note and asked, "Are you upset with your friend for telling your grandmothers your secret?"

"No,"

A lie. Dr. Shrink didn't look convinced.

"Yes, I guess, but I get why she did," Rory continued.

"Why did she?"

Rory looked at her feet and quietly said, "Because she doesn't want me to keep hurting myself."

"When did you start hurting yourself?" Dr. Shrink asked.

"About six years ago, but Paris didn't find out about it until last week."

"When was the last time you hurt yourself?"

"About three months ago," she answered.

"Was Paris the only one you told?' Dr. Shrink.

Rory shook her head. "A few of my friends found out at the same time. They found me when I was about to . . . do it. The only one who knew, he . . . he made me open the door and I was holding the glass and . . . They figured it out."

"And this happened a week ago?" Dr. Shrink asked while skimming her notes.

Rory nodded her head.

"So, Rory, what made you want to cut after three months of controlling it?"

"It's a long story," Rory tried to stall.

"Bore me," replied Dr. Shrink.

Rory decided she didn't feel like talking anymore. She and Dr. Shrink spent the last fifteen minutes of their time together in silence, Rory repeating the words Manic Monday in her head over and over again.

* * *

Tristan made his way to his last class of the day.

Mondays suck. Plus, people kept staring at him. Not that he could blame them, he and his ex-girlfriend/fiancé didn't sort of have a somewhat epic showdown the Friday before. Okay, maybe epic was pushing it, but it was big.

So he got to spend the whole pretending he didn't notice them staring. Pretending he didn't spend the weekend hoping that said ex-girlfriend/fiancé would call him back after being thrown out of her room by her overbearing best friend. Pretending that it didn't bother him the she didn't call. Pretending that he didn't desperately want to know why she wasn't in her last class and why she wasn't heading to her current class. No, he didn't keep tabs on her and which routes she took to her classes. He was just . . . observant. Not observant enough, though, that it took him a few minutes to notice that one of his best friends had been walking with him to his next class.

"Hey man, how are you and-." Finn started to ask when Tristan finally noticed him.

Tristan cut Finn off, "I don't know."

"You still haven't talked to her?" asked Finn in disbelief.

Tristan shot him a dirty look. "No."

They got to their class and took their seats in the back of the room.

"So does that mean that you don't know where she is right now?" asked Finn.

"Yes," Tristan answered slowly. "Are you telling me that you do?"

Finn looked like he had said too much. As if Paris had threatened a very important part of his body if he said anything about Rory's current 'situation' to the wrong person. How was he supposed to know that Tristan was this wrong person? We're they on the way to working this out?

"Finn," Tristan started, "where is-."

Finn was saved by the bell, literally.

* * *

Celia Dugray was a good mother.

She was present for every first: first step, first word, first day of school. She knew her son's friends, their parents, and their phone numbers. Her son had a curfew (on weeknights, anyway), an allowance, and chores. Okay, so his curfew was three in the morning on weeknights, his monthly allowance was more than some people made in a year, and his 'chore' was school. Still, she was involved. She went to PTA meetings, _she_ took her son to the park when he was a toddler, _and she_ made it a point to be home by 11 pm every night.

Basically, she was everything Lorelai Victoria Hayden was not.

Not that Celia Dugray wasn't a pillar of Hartford society, quite the contrary. She was in the DAR, worked for a few charities, and hosted dinner parties like all the rest. However, she didn't ignore her child, like most of the rest.

When Rory and Tristan first started dating, Celia had been a little worried. After all, this was the girl whose conception had caused waves of gossip for months. Whose disappearance had been the stuff of legends for almost ten years before showing up at Chilton for the sixth grade. What if she was as . . . colorful as her parents' action's made others presume her to be?

Of course, the worry was dismissed that first time Tristan brought her over for dinner. Rory was beautiful, smart, and her son adored her. Celia could tell by the way the two kept looking at each other that the feeling was mutual. They soon became the 'It couple' of Hartford, appearing in the society/gossip rags whenever they showed up at a benefit together. They always appeared happy, which was why Celia was confused by the exchange between the two she had witnessed about a week after her son's eighteenth birthday.

(flashback)

_Celia was late for a DAR meeting one Monday afternoon when she heard the doorbell ring. The maid was out on errands, so she answered the door herself. To she surprise, it was Rory, and she was carrying a box._

"_Hello Mrs. Dugray," Rory greeted her solemnly. _

"_Rory, for the last time, call me Celia. Come in, dear."_

_Rory tried to smile at her kindness and entered the Dugray mansion for, what she thought, would be the last time. Celia closed the door behind her and led her to the living room , it was rude to greet people in the foyer after all._

"_Tristan's not-,"_

"_I know," Rory said suddenly. "He's working with his Dad. That's actually why I'm here," she finished while handing Celia the box. "This is some of his stuff that he's left at my house over the last year."_

_Celia took the box, despite her confusion. Hadn't Rory seen Tristan at school today? What was going on? After voicing her concern, Rory's face dropped._

_Her voice shook as she began to answer, "Oh, he hasn't told you? I'm sorry, I thought you-." Rory was cut off by the door opening and slamming shut, followed by the voice of the one person she had hoped to avoid._

"_Mom, is Rory here?" Tristan asked hopefully, while sprinting to the living room. He had seen her car in the driveway and had jumped out of his father's car before it was even in park, leaving his very confused father outside. John Dugray had been worried about his son, who had been sulky and quiet this past week. He thought that taking him golfing for his birthday instead of his usually working at the firm might give him an insight to his son's suffering. _

_Celia noticed Rory's stricken fact when Tristan entered the room; she also noticed the hopeful look on her son's. The two just stared at each other while John rushed into the house after his son. They were all silent for a moment, before Celia sensed the room was a little crowded._

"_John, while don't you and I go and . . ." Celia's voice trailed off as she dragged her husband out of the room._

_Tristan kept his eyes on Rory, who kept her eyes on the floor. "What are you doing here?" he asked gently. Then he saw the box on the table, and what was in it, and his expression changed from hopeful, to disappointed, to angry. _

"_I didn't think you were going to be here," she said softly._

"_Oh, so you came over to drop off my stuff on the one day you knew I wouldn't be here?" Tristan asked, his voice rising with each word. _

_Rory nodded. Both of the teenagers were unaware that his parents in the kitchen could hear them._

"_I don't know what to do anymore, Rory. You won't answer my calls, you won't talk to me, you ignore me school. I'm running out of ideas here," he continued frantically._

"_Maybe you should just take the hint," she said softly._

"_Take the hint," he repeated. "I love you, I want to be with you, this is . . . this is stupid. I made a mistake, a horrible, horrible mistake, but we can get past it!"_

_Celia and John listened to the argument taking place in the living room, wondering just what their son had done. _

_Rory remained silent, like she was afraid of what she would say if she dared utter a word. Tristan, however, continued to pour his heart out._

"_I know what I did was wrong. Wrong doesn't even begin to describe what I did it was horrible. I betrayed you and your trust but I never stopped loving you! Please, we can work this out!"_

_Rory, tears streaming down her face, just shook her head. "I can't," she whispered._

"_You can't?! You can't?! After a year, and the only thing you can't come up with is 'you can't!'?" Tristan exclaimed. _

_Rory didn't know what to do, so she did what she was good at: she ran. At the sound of her car driving away, Tristan collapsed on the couch. Seconds later, he was joined by his parents. Both of them wanted to know one thing: What the hell did he do?_

* * *

Emily Gilmore and Francine Hayden looked woefully out of place in the waiting room of Rory's therapist's office. Both clad in Channel suits, they both looked uncharacteristically nervous. When Rory exited the doctor's office, both jumped up from the couch, desperate to get out of there as soon as possible.

Emily and Francine had been shell-shocked when the Gellar girl interrupted their weekly tea and told then what was going on with their granddaughter. It bothered them that neither of then noticed that she had been cutting herself for _years_ and they hadn't noticed. It made Emily feel even more like a bad parent, what after her first daughter becoming pregnant at sixteen, running away, and then ignoring her own daughter. Now her granddaughter was . . . she didn't want to think about it. The three women were silent as they got into the car, the chauffer closing the door behind them.

They made idle chitchat on the way home. Rory was grateful for her grandmothers' ability to be nonchalant and know when she didn't want to talk about things. They dropped her off at her house first, Emily telling her she looked forward to dinner on Wednesday. She went to her room only to find the source of her problems waiting for her, sitting on her bed.

"What are you doing here?' she asked, more surprised then angry.

"Finn told me where you were," he replied, standing up but not taking a step toward her. "I just . . . I wanted to make sure you were okay."

It was noticeably difficult for him to be in this room. Too many memories lived here. After their second kiss, it was in this room that they had decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend. It had been this room that she told him she loved him. It was in this room that they first made love.

Tristan knew how big of a deal her going to therapy was. It had been a sore issue between them and the cause of one of their first big fights as a couple. However, he foolishly began to believe that he could help her, cure her, make her happy enough that she wouldn't even think about hurting herself. For a while, it seemed like he could. He would find excuses to run his hands up her arms and thought she didn't realize that his motive of this gesture was to check for scars. However, after his birthday, she would barely look at him, let alone let him touch her.

"Yeah . . . my grandmothers made me," she whispered.

For the first time in months, she looked him straight in the eye and didn't flinch, yell, or cry. It made Tristan miss her even more. He remembered when they would spend hours looking into each other's eyes, and he hadn't known how much he would miss it until he didn't have it (her) anymore.

"Do you want to-." Tristan started.

"I don't want to-." Rory began at the same time.

If it was anyone else, a nervous laugh would have followed this exchange, but this was them. He knew what she was going to say, _I don't want to talk about it._ For some reason, his sort of pissed him off. He knew he had no right to be. Rory was a seriously guarded person, and he knew that; her knew her. He was the one who had ruined their relationship, he was the one who didn't trust her, and he was the one who was unfaithful. These were facts that were constantly thrown in his face for his entire adult life.

She didn't know why she wasn't kicking him out of her room. Maybe she was tired of pretending not to feel anything. Perhaps she was sick of ignoring him. It could be that she had finally accepted that it was in Tristan's arms, in this room, that she had finally felt at peace for the first time in months. She wasn't trying to shut him out, honest. She was just sick of talking, and she didn't want her first non-yelling conversation with Tristan to be about her screwed up life.

He didn't see it that way.

"You don't want to talk about it," he scoffed. "Of course you don't. You never want to talk about anything! But this isn't about just you anymore!" he exclaimed, and not calmly. "I've said this too many times for me to count this week, but I'll say it again. I know I'm an asshole. I know what I did was horrible, if I could take back what I did, what I said, then I would."

"I know-," she tried to but in, but Tristan just kept on going.

"But we're getting married! We're going to be spending the rest of our lives together! You can't stay mad at me forever! You need to grow up and stop shutting me out so that we can work this out _together_. You can't kiss me and run away, or let Paris run me out of your room after we make a little but of headway and then not call me for a week," Tristan admonished.

Last week, she would have replied that he was the one who had to grow up. That she had every right to shut him out and that he was right, he was an asshole. She would have thrown ever little thing he did to her in his face and storm off. However, she knew he was right, and as much as the pissed her off, it made her feel a little better about what she did next.

"We can't keep living like this," he continued, not noticing that Rory was taking steps to lessen the distance between the two of them. Soon, she was right next to him by her bed. "The only way we can survive this is-."

Rory cut him off by softly pressing her lips to his, and then pulling back almost immediately. Needless to say, it worked. He looked at her like she was crazy, but leaned back in for a deeper, more meaningful kiss. He knew better than to try to take it further, and pulled back a few seconds later.

She could tell that he was worried that she would leave or make him get out. Instead, she simply asked, "Do you want to go to Finn's graduation party with me?"

He smiled and thought, _Maybe Mondays aren't that bad._

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Tristan and Rory are finally making progress. Next chapter I want to include Tristan's father and Lorelai's POV. Maybe even Christopher's. **

**Please review!**


	8. Catharsis

**Society**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**FYI: **_flashbacks, _current

**Catharsis**

* * *

She forgot what kissing him felt like.

Sure, they had kissed a few time over the past week, but those kisses had been forceful or a product of circumstance, and usually over within a few seconds. These kisses were anything but. They were slow and meaningful, as if they were trying to remember every millimeter of each other's lips.

They were now lying in the middle of her bed, facing each other. His hand was on her waist, waiting for the courage to move it under her shirt, and feel the skin on her abdomen for the first time in what felt like forever. Their legs were entangled, and Rory couldn't remember a time when she felt more at peace. These kisses were unhurried and the complete opposite of frantic. He was almost able to not worry that any second now, she was going to push him away and make him leave.

Rory pulled back and looked him in the eye. "She asked me why I do it."

Tristan looked confused for a moment at the out of context comment, but then understood. She was sharing with him, making an effort.

"What did you say?"

A small smirk appeared on her lips that reminded Tristan of Logan, and she pressed her face into his chest.

"Rory," he prodded her, not letting her ignore the question.

He felt her talk into his chest, and pulled back in time to hear what she was saying, "I didn't answer her. We spent the rest of our session in silence. I think . . ." she trailed.

"What," Tristan whispered.

"I have to meet with her again on Wednesday and Friday, so I'm going to have to answer her eventually."

He pulled her up to him and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'm proud of you for going," he murmured.

"I didn't really have a choice," she reminded him.

"Yes, you did," he insisted. He lifted her chin so that she would look him in the eye. "Do you want me to take you next time?"

She shook her head. "I think my grandmothers are more comfortable taking me themselves, it's so they know for sure I'm going. I even have to have dinner with them that night instead of tomorrow. They are really trying to make sure I have no time to myself so that I can't . . . well, you know."

He nodded, he _did _know.

"I'm to find a ride to school Wednesday morning, they will pick me up for my appointment, drop me back at school for my Franklin meeting, and then the will pick me up again for dinner," she continued.

"I can drive you," he offered.

She decided to consider it as she kissed him again.

* * *

John Dugray was involved with his son's life.

He had promised himself at a young age (about twenty or so) that if he ever brought another human life into this world, he would be there for it. He wouldn't be like his own father and just give him an allowance every week while half way out the door to go to work. He remembered looking at his parents and wonder why the hell they didn't just get a divorce already. They had never been fooling anyone, what with his father's secretary joining him on 'business trips' or his mother's book club meeting that none of the mothers of his friends seemed to belong to. He vowed to be there for his family, to have whatever resemblance of normal they could have with the resources they controlled. That being said, he was a very busy man and on occasion he would slip up from time to time.

Mind you, it was never anything too horrible. He never forgot a birthday or a wedding anniversary. He knew where his son was at all times, be it at school or celebrating spring break with his friends on an entirely different continent. He had taught his son to ride a bike and to drive a car; he left shoe tying to his wife. Yes, he had even had 'the talk' with Tristan. But his son's relationship with Rory Gilmore Hayden took him by surprise.

No, it wasn't because of her past or her parents; it wasn't anything about her. It was about his son, about how he acted around his new girlfriend.

While John had not been an absentee father, that didn't mean he hadn't prepared his son for the real world, for the business world. He brought up his son to be smart; to look for every loophole, ever possibility, every technicality. Essentially, he taught his son to be successful in a world where feelings were weaknesses and there was no such thing as a relationship.

Yes, when his wife heard him say that, he had slept in a guest room for a few nights.

Rory made his son happy, so it was hard for him and his wife to not like her. He knew it was partly his influence that led to his indiscretion with Rory, and he wouldn't feel right until he fixed it. He owed that to his son. So when the opportunity came up to give his son what he wanted, to give his son a chance to be happy, he jumped.

* * *

Eventually, she and Tristan had to get out of bed. Rory noticed that he took every opportunity he had to touch her. He held her hand as they walked out of her house, narrowly missing the arrival of her parents, and continued to do so as he lazily maneuvered the steering wheel one-handed. When they got to her favorite diner, he sat on the same side of the booth with her. He didn't complain when she stole fries off his plate.

"You need to eat more vegetables," he said softly.

She stole another fry and held it in front of his face. "Potatoes are vegetables," she replied, smartly, before popping the fry in her mouth.

He conceded with a smile as she took another bite of her burger. They finished their meals, paid, and walked out of the diner with his hand at the small of her back. Rory let herself forget all that had happened in the last few months, at least for now. She was in the arms of the guy who, against her better judgment and some fierce determination, she loved. Even if she wasn't fully convinced that he returned the feeling, she had what she needed right now.

Tristan knew better than to drive her home. Her parents might be there, and while they usually remained there less than two hours after arriving before they went out for their nightly activities, he wanted to be with her for as long as he could. Her phone would light up or vibrate, but she ignored it. He didn't know whom the calls and texts were from, but he took it as a sign that she was enjoying this time as much as he was.

Rory watch him as he drove to a park just outside Chilton. He parked in the lot just to the left of the entrance, near a small playground. It was late enough that no one was there, but early enough for them to watch the sunset. Wordlessly, the both exited the car and made their way to the swings. As usually, Rory picked the one closer to the lake while Tristan chose the one near the jungle-gym. Their first _real_ date had ended here.

* * *

Christopher Hayden was not involved in his daughter's life.

It wasn't something he was proud of, but he wasn't going to lie about it. He and his wife had made choice in their life, choices that had been motivated by selfish teenagers. In high school, he had only wanted one thing: Lorelai. She was the love of his life. He knew, without a doubt, that somehow, she was going to be in his life forever. She made him happy.

When she came to him that day and told him that she was pregnant, despite the fact that they were underage and that their parents were probably going to murder them, his first feeling, after the shocked numbness, was joy. Sure, that feeling went a way a bit as he held his girlfriend (soon to be wife) and listened to their parents plan out their lives. Still, even after all this time, after eighteen years of marriage, they were still blissfully in love, like teenagers.

Unfortunately, there were other aspects of their lives that hadn't changed from their teenage years as well.

Both of them were still incredibly selfish. Like the decision of theirs to attend Yale if they came back into the fold, they now made the decision to devote their lives to two things: each other and their work. Chris has liked and excelled at Yale, both undergrad and law school. Of course, he had a wonderful motivation: his beautiful wife and daughter, who never failed to capture his attention at the time. The years that he spent in higher education were a wonderful time. He and Lorelai would stay up until the early morning studying together.

He didn't know exactly when it happened, but eventually, it became common practice to see his daughter only a few times a week. He and Lor had been busy. There was school, eventually he got an internship at his father's firm, and then there was the time he and Lor had spent together. Chris had been able to justify the time away from his daughter so easily. They were young, and he and Lorelai both felt that they deserved as much of the normal college experience as they could get. Rory was just a baby, and he would have more time to spend with her once he was out of school. Besides, it's not like she would remember this time, anyway.

Once he and Lorelai graduated with their bachelor's degree, he continued to law school while she put her business degree to use; albeit, for the DAR, but still. Lorelai joined as many boards as she could, got involved in as many organizations as she could, she even started a charity. Anything to keep busy, and prove to Hartford Society that she was not some girl who was stupid enough to get pregnant. Point is, they were no longer able to spend all day together on campus as they had before. Determined to keep their marriage strong, they spent as much time together as their schedules allowed. Unfortunately, this time did no include their daughter.

He hadn't really realized how bad it had gotten until the night after the announcement of his daughter's betrothal, when after the last guest had gone home; he saw his wife sitting at her vanity in their room, tears running down her face.

"Chris, she hates us," Lorelai had whispered in a strangled tone.

Through her tears, Lor told him what had transpired in the last twenty-four hours; about how their daughters yelled at her and the verbal dressing-down she had received from her mother in the DAR parking lot. He was silent as her let her get all of it out, but a ton of thoughts were swimming in his head. His daughter had been in love and had her heart broken. His daughter spent significant time with their parents. His daughter was amazingly successful in school. Along with these thoughts, there were also excuses. He ran a law firm. He had a busy life. He did this all for her, so maybe he wasn't as involved as she would have liked. She gets to have a childhood, he and Lor didn't. How was he supposed to know that she . . .

He stopped there, because even he couldn't deny that as a father, he had failed.

He should have known.

* * *

After a less than conspicuous absence on Tuesday, they walked into Chilton together on Wednesday morning, hand in hand. It wasn't noticed right away, but it was common knowledge by fourth period that the Dugray-Hayden Cold War was over, or at least on hiatus. They went through the day without acknowledging the effect of the change, as if the last few months hadn't actually happened, or at least that's how it looked to outsiders. Paris had to slug Finn in the gut to stop him from mentioning the small grin that seemed to have taken permanent residence upon Tristan's face. Paris also had to kick Stephanie under the lunch table when she had (attempted to) subtly make Rory dish about what had happened the day before. Paris found herself bighting her own tongue form wondering aloud about what had happened between her friends the days before.

It had been a busy day for Paris.

She noticed that the relationship between Tristan and Rory was not the same as it had been before their break-up, how Tristan watched Rory when she wasn't looking as if he were afraid that was she going to bolt at any minutes, how he gripped her hand so tightly that his knuckles were nearly white and, most importantly, how Rory let it happen.

Paris was able to catch Rory's eyes in their French Literature class and was comforted by the fact that her best friend book genuinely relaxed for the first time in a long time. Rory surprised her by (much to Paris' chagrin) hugging her after class. This let Paris know that Rory wasn't completely pissed at her and that the hug was the only punishment she was going to get. Paris returned her hug and let Rory know that they would talk about this after the Franklin meeting. Rory rolled her eyes and was able to respond when Tristan arrived, ready to escort her to their next class. Paris saw how Tristan avoided her gaze and she knew that he was somewhat afraid of what she would say to him. Paris decided to let it slide. For now, anyway.

* * *

Rory had spent the previous day alone. She knew that Tristan hadn't understood when she told him, but he knew better than to press it. After watching the sunrise at the playground, he took his time getting her back home. Rory noticed that he took a longer route, and would make no effort to beat a yellow light. She didn't mind much; her parents would be leaving for work soon and she was in no rush to run in to them. It kind of amused her to watch Tristan, the guy who loved to use his Porsche to it's full potential, obey the speed limit. Tristan stopped by his house first, and Rory was not sure if she was going to follow him into the house, but then he opened her door for her and offered his hand. She took it and he pulled her out of the car.

Tristan stepped into the foyer of his home. Rory was holding his hand, and he felt her tense up the minute they stepped into the house.

"Tristan," they heard Mrs. Dugray call from somewhere. "You have some explaining to do young man." They could tell she was coming closer to the foyer. "You can't just stay out all night and not call. Your father and I we worried sic-Rory?"

Celia had made her way into the foyer to find her thoughtless son and his ex-girlfriend turned fiancé, hand-in-hand, in her house. She noticed that Rory looked a bit scared, Tristan worried, and was sure that her own face betrayed her shock.

"Is that him?" Celia turned when she heard his husband's voice traveling from the kitchen to the foyer. "Did you tell him he's-" John stopped when he joined them all in the foyer and saw they had a visitor.

For a long moment, the four of them stood in the foyer, silent. Celia and John didn't know what to make of the pair, and didn't want to jump to conclusions. Rory and Tristan were adjusting to spending time together, and were unaware of how to explain themselves. Still, Rory took the first stab.

"I'm sorry he was out. It's my fault. We got to talking, and then I got hungry and so we went some diner and lost track of time and-"

"It's perfectly alright dear," Celia cut Rory's ramble off. "We were worried, but we know it was unintentional."

It was then that Tristan let go of Rory's hand and ran his hand through his hair. His parents were really bad at this. "I'm sorry. I'm going to go get changed for school, and I promise to be home for dinner tonight. We'll talk then, okay?" Tristan told his parents. Without waiting for a reply, his turned and kissed Rory on the cheek, "I'll be back in ten minutes," he told her before heading towards the stairs.

Rory knew that she would be unable to go to his room right now. The last time she was there it was the morning of… That was the last place she wanted to be. Still, in the foyer of Tristan's house with his parents was a close second.

Celia and John stared at Rory, who seemed to take great interest in the crown molding. She didn't know how to deal with the parent's of her ex-boyfriend/quasi-fiance who had had a hand in setting her up with their son. Part of her hoped that Celia hadn't known about the whole thing, but she knew better.

"Would you like some coffee? Anything to eat?" John asked, hoping to lessen the tension.

"No thank you," Rory replied succinctly.

John nodded, accepting defeat. "Well, I'm off to work."

* * *

Once again, Rory found herself sitting across from Dr. Shrink. The good doctor had offered her coffee before starting the interrogation today, which had slightly helped Rory's opinion to her. Still, Rory had yet to look her in the eye.

"So, Rory, lets talk," Dr. Shrink said in an extremely (annoying) up-beat tone.

"About what?" Rory asked softly, but politely.

"What do you want to talk about?" Shrink replied in a more normal voice.

Rory shrugged, "I don't have anything to-,"

"We both know that's not true," Shrink pre-empted her denial. "Tell you what, I'll give you three topics to choose from and whatever you choose if what we'll talk about. Sound good?"

Rory nodded slowly, knowing that this was going somewhere she'd rather avoid.

Dr. Shrink leaned forward and spoke, "Rory, I know you are a smart girl. I'm not going to insult you by attempting to manipulate you into talking to me. We both know that you are more than willing to sit here in silence for the whole session. I want you to know that what you and I talk about here stays between us. I'm not going to try to be your friend, I'm not going to tell you everything is going to be okay and I'm not going to judge you or tell you what to do. I don't think you're crazy but know that no one is completely sane."

Stunned, Rory nodded that she understood. She appreciated Dr. Shrink's bluntness.

"Now," Shrink continued, "would you like to talk about your parents, your friends or your future?"

Rory took a deep breath and tried to feel as calm as she had when she was lying with Tristan in her bed two days ago. "I…" Rory looked up from her hands and for the first time looked Dr. Shrink in the eyes. Her face was calm and patient. "My parents," she replied steadily.

Dr. Shrink smiled, unable to hide that she looked pleased with herself, and brought her pen to her notebook.

* * *

Rory was at her grandparent's dinner table that night. She was still reeling from her session that day. The maid of the week placed a salad in front of her and scurried back into the kitchen. Emily Gilmore was famous for, among other things, firing maids.

"So, how has everyone's week been?" Richard Gilmore began the conversation.

Emily responded with a charming story about mix-up in nametags at the previous Ladies of the Garden Foundation meeting. Richard followed up with summarizing his latest business trip, he had returned just in time for dinner, from Omaha. Rory didn't know if Richard knew about her…situation yet. Emily would tell him, Rory had no doubt, but he had been away when Paris had spilled the beans and Rory didn't know if Emily would tell him over the phone or if she had had time to talk to him before Rory had arrived. For this reason, she chose her words carefully.

"My week's been pretty satisfactory so far. I…I had dinner with Tristan on Monday night," Rory offered tentatively. "He's actually going to drive me home tonight, if that's okay."

Her grandparents looked at each other quickly, and then focused on Rory. "That sounds lovely, Rory," Emily said with a small smile. "You and Tristan have been.. I mean-."

"We've been talking," Rory supplied.

Emily and Richard were shocked, Rory could tell, but not completely unhappy by this turn of events. Don't be mistaken. Richard still wanted to hurt the Dugray boy for how he had hurt his only granddaughter, but like Emily, he knew Rory and Tristan still loved each other. Still, he was ignoring his daughter and son-in-law because he knew that he'd blow up at them if given the chance.

"That's nice dear." Emily replied.

Rory smiled and ate her salad. Small chat dominated the next three courses. It was when dessert had been cleared and coffee was served that the conversation took a turn.

"So, Rory," Richard started carefully. "How have your appointments been?'

Rory put her coffee down slowly. Apparently her grandmother had been able to inform her grandfather of her problem. Emily's eyes darted to her husband, giving him a look that read _I told you not to leave her alone._

"They've been…"

* * *

"_My parents," Rory replied steadily. _

_Dr. Shrink nodded, ready for Rory to continue._

"_My parents love each other and I'm pretty sure they love me. They just aren't good at it."_

_Dr. Shrink scribbled something down. "How do you mean?'_

"_They had me at a young age. I don't know much, just that they left Hartford after they found out my mother was pregnant. They came back after I was born and they had graduated high school. They needed money for Yale. They became more concerned with maintaining their relationship than having one with me." _

"_How does that make you feel?" Dr. Shrink looked as if she knew her questions was cliché enough to garner mocking from her patient. _

_Rory smothered a smirk that would make a Huntzberger proud and looked Dr. Shrink in the eye, "Sometimes I'm grateful, other times it pisses me off. My grandparents try to fill the hole, but…" Rory trailed off._

"_But?" Dr. Shrink wasn't going to let it go._

_Rory took a deep breath and continued, "Absentee parents aren't uncommon around here. I can't remember a time when they weren't like this. When I started school, and other parents were around, picking up their kids or volunteering for the day, I understood mine were different. When I switched to private school, it was more normal."_

"_Normal? As in parents not being there?" Dr. Shrink asked._

_Rory nodded as she found her hands extremely interesting, "But still…" Rory let her eyes wander around the room, thinking of how to put what she was about to say next without sounding completely pathetic. Her gaze landed on the wall behind Dr. Shrink, eventually travelling to the doctor herself. "They don't pay attention to anything that I do. My friend's parents, some of them any way, only pay attention if they've done something wrong or have crappy report cards. Mine don't even pay attention to that. I get straight A's and they don't notice, I get suspended and they don't notice-."_

"_You got suspended?" Dr. Shrink interrupted._

"_I mean," but Rory just kept on talking, "what does it take? And at least with my friends' parents, they aren't attentive to each other either. But mine love each other, like really, really love each other, So it's not like they don't know how. Tristan's parents…" she stopped talking, as if she had made a mistake._

_Dr. Shrink noticed, "Tristan? Who's he?"_

_Rory looked at her feet, "He's my…" Never had she been so happy to hear a timer go off._

* * *

"They've been…cathartic." Rory said with a nod, happy with her own vocabulary. She took a sip of her coffee and glanced at the people around the table.

Richard gave a satisfied nod and didn't question her any further about it.

* * *

So, it's been three years. Sorry? I've had a really stressful few years and recently had some more time on my hands, so I though I'd give writing another try. To those who are still there, thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter. It's un-beta'd, but I'd love to hear your reactions!

Sorry again for the wait


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